Hall of Fame

This great collection of Dutch city maps created by Joan Bleau in 1649 entitled Tooneel der Steeden (Views of Cities) is just such a resource. They seem so strange, so unique, and yet so natural at the same time. I honestly believe a quick glance at these will get any GMs mind overflowing with ideas for their next session. Maybe it’s the painstaking attention to detail, or perhaps the fact that these are real maps of real cities, either way these are perfect for role playing games.

I really like how they look, and it’s interesting what the layout of the cities says about their purpose — defense was a significant element of their construction.

Troll and Flame

Kickstarter

This looks to be a very fast-paced, chess-like game. You start with just a small number of pieces (tiles), each turn you can either move (and/or attack) with one piece or place a new one next to your Duke. Each time a piece acts, it is flipped and its allowable actions change. For instance, the Duke must alternate side to side and front to back movement. The board is slightly smaller (6×6 rather than 8×8) than a chessboard.

I suspect with practice a game will play out in about 10-15 minutes.

The Duke

Project closes June 30, and is 2,680/15,000 backed.

Videos

And here I thought I wasn’t going to have any video links this week.

Archetype by Aaron Sims

This is a short for a movie, Archetype, about

RL7 is an eight-foot tall combat robot that goes on the run after malfunctioning with vivid memories of once being human. As its creators and the military close in, RL7 battles its way to uncovering the shocking truth behind its mysterious visions and past.

Directed by Aaron Sims

starring Robert Joy (Land of the Dead, CSI:NY) and David Anders (Heros, 24).

I understand that this is going to production for real. I want to see what happens next.